Golden Sun: Ebon Pinion
by Heckenschutze
Summary: The Grave Eclipse has passed, and Weyard must now rise from the ashes. Just as things seem calm, Tyrell, Matthew and Karis are catapulted into a new adventure, one that could spell death for every creature on Weyard. This is going to be a rather long story, so if you're into that stuff, this is for you. Post-DD.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just a few quick points before we begin;

I do not own Golden Sun, Nintendo and Camelot have the rights to the series.

As far as the story goes, I am going to deviate slightly from canon, but it shouldn't cause any major problems or anything. Also, this is a post-DD fic, so spoilers for anyone who hasn't finished the game.

Also, please review. This is my first fanfic, and it's going to be quite an undertaking. Reviews will help me make the story, OCs, and my writing better overall. Plus, if enough people like my work and want me to keep writing, I will be more than happy to oblige.

Lastly, I have been drawing up some of the OCs (just for concept), and if anyone would like to see them, I can make that happen.

Ok everyone, let's get started.

Ebon Pinion: Prologue

The setting sun cast rays of light across the valleys and mountains, painting everything in radiant shades of red and yellow. Three young adepts climbed a path through the range, eager to reach the peak of the plateau.

"Isaac's going to be so happy to see the feather", thought Karis aloud. "He can finally get back to work observing Mt. Aleph."

"That's right," replied Tyrell with a gusto, "I had almost forgotten why we even started out on this crazy journey. Dang, I've grown up so much, dad's probably not gonna even recognize me!"

To this, Karis rolled her eyes and Matthew simply chuckled at the fire adept. They had grown, sure, but not that much.

As they came closer to their destination, Tyrell continued to ramble on about how hard their journey had been and how they would soon be exchanging adventure stories with their parents. Karis rolled her eyes again and Matthew nodded in agreement at Tyrell, but he wasn't actually paying too much attention to his hotheaded friend.

"Oh, we can tell them about the time I pulled Amiti out of that monster's mouth, or maybe when Eoleo steered us through that ice field up north!" Tyrell spat out event after event, almost as if he were reliving the experiences. However, he slowly came to a stop as they neared the bridge that led to the cabin atop the plateau.

"It's good to finally be back", said Karis with an air of relief. Tyrell and Karis ran forward and stopped halfway across the bridge before waiting for Matthew, who reluctantly followed behind.

"What's wrong, aren't you glad to be home," asked Tyrell anxiously.

Matthew only lifted a finger towards the horizon.

There, only a short distance away from the cabin loomed a Psynergy Vortex big enough to encompass a building. Karis stepped back even as Tyrell rushed towards the cabin.

"Wait, Tyrell, you're supposed to run AWAY from the vortexes, not towards them!" Karis' cry fell on deaf ears as Tyrell reached the cabin door. He pulled on the handle, but the door wouldn't budge. Starting to panic, he pulled out his sword and began to hack away at the door, charging each blow with a little Mars Psynergy.

With each Psynergy-charged swing, the vortex pulsed slightly, sending out dark auras and small bolts of dark energy. Tyrell didn't realize this, and continued to try to break through the heavy door. Matthew and Karis rushed to try to pull Tyrell away from the cabin, but it was too late. The vortex expanded immensely, unleashing a wave of energy in all directions, knocking the adepts to the ground. The trio barely knew what just happened before the vortex loosed a terrible howl, sucking in everything around it.

Tyrell dug his sword in to the ground, and Matthew grabbed his boot as he was pulled off the ground. Karis, unable to grasp anything to hold on to, was sucked in along with a large chunk of the cabin. Matthew and Tyrell couldn't even hear her scream over the vortex.

Matthew didn't have a very good grip on Tyrell's boot, and was knocked off by a chunk of earth that was sucked up by the vortex. Tyrell looked back just long enough to see his best friend be swallowed up by the mass of dark energy.

Tyrell held on as tight as he could against the vortex's unrelenting force, but his sword began to slip, and he panicked as he floated higher and higher towards the vortex. The howling intensified, and the earth around Tyrell's sword crumbled and gave way, sending Tyrell flying into the vortex.

Just before he blacked out, he heard a voice in the darkness, "I have opened the gates, brother. There is a war coming, and I will have my place at her side again."

A/N: Soooo…. Bad? Good? Meh? Please review, and don't be afraid to be harsh. It will only help me get better.

Also, any tips for OCs? I have a few for later, and I could use some help on how to flesh them out and make them believable.

I will also try to respond to reviews as needed, so ask questions if you need to.

Finally, I will probably be making a few subtle references throughout the story, and props to anyone who picks them out.


	2. Karis Chapter 1: Awakening

A/N: So here's the plan for now; the chapters will follow the separate paths of Karis, Matthew, and Tyrell for a while.

I know this may get slightly complicated, but I'll try to keep things clear and easy to understand.

Without further ado,

Tally ho!

Karis Chapter 1: Awakening

The darkness swirled all around Karis, engulfing her senses and threatening to overtake her mind. As she slowly crawled out of the shadows, crimson began to mix with black, becoming a view that sickened her to her core. With the sensation of sickness came pain, an incredible, sharp pain striking her mind. The pain was terrible, but she used it as a hold which she used to mentally pull herself back to consciousness and away from the void that she had somehow just escaped.

Karis heard voices hovering around her. They were unfamiliar, hurried, and frantic. Karis didn't know what was happening, but it sounded like people were in pain. Despite being in pain herself, she found she wanted to reach out and help them. People she didn't know or may ever know, but she still felt compassion for them. Before she could regain control over her body, she felt hands grabbing her and lifting her up and onto something. Still, they were gentle, and did nothing to cause her more harm.

Regardless of the intentions or actions of the people around her, she could feel her own life force slipping and fading away, trickling towards the great beyond. She once again left consciousness and drifted towards a bright light. The light which she drifted towards felt warm and comforting, a polar opposite to the darkness she had felt not so long before.

Suddenly, she stopped moving towards the light. She was confused, and began to wonder why she could not touch the light despite reaching for it.

"Be still, my child. I am here," called a voice from beyond the light. It was the voice of a woman, comforting in presence. "I have seen your heart and I have seen your future and your past. You will not die here. You still have a job to do."

Before Karis could reply, she was whisked back to reality, her mind reconnecting with body. Karis' eyes snapped open, her mind still reeling from what she had just experienced. She looked around, taking in her new surroundings. She was floating vertically in a glass tube filled with a clear, blue-ish green liquid that had the consistency of mud. She had a mask that pumped air to her mouth and nose, and several pads were stuck to her chest and head.

As she checked herself over, she noticed she was only wearing her undergarments, and they were stained by blood. "Damn, what happened to me," she thought to herself. She looked outside of her tube and noticed she was in a small metallic room with a control panel right in front of her and a door right behind it. The room was empty, and she didn't particularly care to stay in this tube much longer.

Summoning her psynergy, she opted for a wind gust, not wanting to electrify herself with a lightning bolt. The wind pounded against the glass tubing, shattering it and sending its contents spilling out onto the floor. Using the control panel to hoist herself up, she managed to walk over to the door and open it, peering into the hallway beyond. There were two men wearing white coats with purple stripes on the shoulders down the hallway, but otherwise it was vacant.

Karis slipped out while they were looking the other way and began to move in the opposite direction. She had made it about fifty feet before they turned around and began to move towards her. Karis tried to turn and run, but her legs were slow to respond, and she stumbled. Running wasn't an option, an even though she didn't know if the meant harm or not, she wasn't about to take chances. Her legs might not be in top shape, but her psynergy worked just fine.

She loosed a barrage of lightning bolts and wind at the pair, sending them flying to the opposite end of the hallway. Assured they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, she turned and began to walk down the hallway, using the wall as a support. She found an open doorway and peeked inside. There was a few of the white jackets the men had been wearing on a coat hanger, so she put one on and continued down the hall. After a few turns, she found herself standing in front of a pair of large double doors, ornately decorated with purple and gold patterns.

"Let's see what's behind door number one, shall we," she thought, hoping it wasn't more guards. Heaving one of the doors forward, Karis entered a large room with lavish furnishings and tall, thick columns supporting a ceiling that was covered in murals and paintings. There were several smaller doors around the edge of the circular room, and she quietly moved to the nearest one on her right.

Karis stuck her head inside and found the room to be full of clothing. Rows upon rows of blouses, dresses, shirts, pants and even some suits of armor were displayed in this one room. She checked to make sure no one was inside, and immediately began combing through the array. She needed to find something inconspicuous yet flexible and comfortable, which was easier said than done. There were a few options, but she decided on a plain green shirt and a pair of pants. She placed the coat in one of the corners of the room and headed back out into the larger room.

Several thoughts ran through her mind, and she began to head around to some of the other rooms. As she checked room after room, she wondered if there was anyone that actually lived here, and if they did, where they were.

After finding all of the other rooms empty, she moved to the final set of doors and paused. Karis could hear a voice from behind the doors. She could tell it was a little girl, and apparently no one else was in the room. Karis peeked inside and indeed found a little girl, but she was playing with Karis' Djinn, who perked up when they noticed Karis looking in. All at once the Djinn rushed towards her, chirping happily to see her again, knocking Karis to the ground as they did so.

The little girl slowly followed, not sure if Karis was friendly or not. After pushing her Djinn off of her, Karis turned to the girl and said, "Um, hi. I'm Karis. What's your name?"

Startled, the little girl took a step back and mumbled something under her breath.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Can you say that again?"

"I'm, uh, my name is Ivy."

Karis smiled and stood up, causing Ivy to take another step back.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. See, these Djinn are my friends, and they know that I won't so anything to hurt you." The Djinn chirped in approval, which made Ivy relax a little. Pleased, Karis decided to start asking questions. "Do you have Djinn too? And where are we anyway?"

Ivy shook her head and said, "No, I'm not old enough, and you don't know?"

Karis shook her head.

Smiling now, Ivy spread her arms wide and reliped, "We're in the palace of Iberia, capital of Anemos!"

Karis nearly fainted.

A/N: Well, that was a surprise, no?

Not much to say in this A/N, but I would like some feedback; would it be better to do the chapters like this, following Karis, Tyrell or Matthew one at a time, or just make breaks in the same updates and switch between them?

Again, reviews please!

Now, review responses;

Jetzul; Thanks, I hope this chapter was entertaining. I'm not going to make romance a main part of this story, but I would be more than happy to make some references and innuendoes.

JamesK716; This chapter is a little longer, and hopefully better in quality. I plan on having one OC that's more powerful, but there is a good reason behind that. (which will be revealed later)

So, nothing else to do now but say Auf Wiedersehen!


	3. Matthew Chapter 1: Awakening

A/N: I should probably be doing my homework instead of writing, but I really don't want to. Oh well, here we go again.

**Matthew Chapter 1: Awakening**

Matthew slowly returned to consciousness, but was met with no more than an all-encompassing darkness that surrounded him. Its dark tendrils stretched outwards, reaching to capture him, and began to overpower him. He fought back with all his strength but to no avail, the shadows were too great. He felt helpless and lost, with no one to come to his aid.

He drifted in the shadows, unaware of time. He began to think, of his travels, of his friends, of Tyrell and Karis. He silently prayed to the gods that they were both alright and not trapped in the darkness as he was. He also wondered if the gods would be as merciful to him, and if he would ever be able to escape the darkness. Matthew began to give up hope, and drifted deeper into despair.

When he had nothing left, there was a bright momentary flash that emerged from Matthew. The light coalesced into a single tiny ray that extended out into the darkness. The ray ruptured the darkness and exploded into a brilliant wave of light. Matthew wasn't entirely sure what just happened, but he didn't complain. He scurried towards the light in an ecstatic and uncoordinated crawl, and emerged on the other side, finally free of the darkness…only to find himself plummeting headfirst towards the ground. He managed to let out a scream before colliding with the cold ground.

~(X)~

Matthew awoke to the smell of stew and smoke, his head throbbing incessantly. He was lying on a blanket with a wet rag on his forehead. The sunlight spread through the branches of the trees directly above him, reflecting off water on the leaves and casting shadows in all directions. Looking around, he found himself at a small camp with a man heavily clad in armor stirring the stew he smelled. The man was young, well built, and had short brown hair that was swept to the side. The man glanced up and, noticing Matthew was awake, stood up and poured Matthew a bowl of the stew.

Handing the bowl to Matthew, He said, "I'm surprised you're awake so soon, what with falling out of one of those black holes the way you did. Sorry if the stew's not very good. My little sister is always the cook." Matthew sat up and sipped a little as the man returned to stirring. Swirling it around in his mouth, Matthew could taste some squirrel meat, berries, and something he could only guess was bark. Not wanting to seem impolite to his new host, he swallowed the brew and turned to face the man.

"So, what's your name, kid", said the man as he continued to stir.

"Matthew. And yours?"

"I'm Askia. Nice to meet you, Matthew."

"You as well. Uh, would you happen to know where we are by any chance," asked Matthew.

"Yep, you're in southern Gondowan, near the Kibombo and Naribwe border," replied Askia rather nonchalantly.

Before Matthew could reply, a pile of sand slumped into the camp and moved towards Askia. Matthew tilted his head, suddenly intrigued by it. The sand moved back and forth a bit before stopping a few feet from where Matthew was sitting. Matthew raised an eyebrow, and then looked back to Askia, who had apparently not noticed the sand yet. Matthew started to talk, but was interrupted by another man, who had appeared out of nowhere and was standing where that sand used to be. This man was rather different from Askia, as he was lightly armored, carried a large vial on his back, and the brown hair under his hood was long and covered part of his face.

"Come on Askia, we should get going. They are getting close" said the man hurriedly. "Get your stuff together and get going, both of you."

"Wait, why should I go," asked a now slightly confused Matthew.

"Well you don't want the Kibombo army marching all over you, do you," replied the man with a hint of sarcasm. "And besides, you two just became friends. It would be a shame if you couldn't continue your wonderful conversation."

"Easy there Crest, he just woke up," Askia replied. Turning to Matthew, he said "I apologize for my brother. He can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, but he's not a bad guy at heart."

"Oh stop it, you. I could just hug you right now."

"Don't push it Crest."

Matthew decided not to push the subject any further and gathered his gear together. They hiked out of the small patch of trees and up a hill not far away. When they came close to the top, Crest motioned for them to get down. Crest crawled forward a few feet, looked over the top of the hill, and nodded back to Askia and Matthew to come forward. Spread out over the field beyond was a large force of Kibombo warriors marching in formation.

"They have been moving south for about a day now. Hey Askia, do you think that they're heading for the hole?"

"Probably. It's hard to tell though."

Matthew, still confused, spoke up, "Wait why would they move towards the vortex? They should be moving the opposite direction."

"We heard a strange rumor in Naribwe. Apparently Akafubu, the Kibombo's witch doctor, has a power that allows him to close the, vortexes you called them? Anyway, no one outside of Kibombo has seen this power. However, there has been no evidence that Kibombo has suffered much from the vortexes," replied Askia.

"It's a load of crap, if you ask me. We should just ignore them; let them march to their deaths for all I care. All we need to do for now is meet up with mom and dad to let them know what happened," said Crest without any trace of emotion.

"I agree, but that's a little cold, Crest. Besides, how do you plan to get past that army unnoticed?"

"I've got an idea," replied Crest with a smirk. Reaching his hand towards Matthew, he said, "Take my hand. I'll get us past those soldiers, no problem." Matthew looked over to Askia, who had taken Crest's other hand. Askia nodded, and Matthew took hold. Crest breathed deeply, then began to glow with a faint yellow light. Surprised, Matthew glanced over to Askia, but he was nowhere to be found. Looking over to Crest, Matthew began to ask where Askia was, but his throat was so dry he couldn't utter the words. Surprised, he looked down to find that he had almost completely turned to sand, and he didn't have much time before he completely dissolved. He looked around, wondering what was happening, even as what was left of him crumbled into sand.

_Alright, that wasn't so bad_, echoed Crest's voice. _Now, I'm going to need you both to stay calm and let me concentrate if is this is going to work. _

_Wait, wha-_ Matthew stumbled. He looked around and was surprised to see that Askia was standing there, with Crest right between them.

_Relax Matthew, I'll explain everything later, but you'll have to trust us for now,_ intervened Askia. _Ok Crest, go for it. _

Crest began to move forward, and Matthew and Askia were pulled along by some unseen force. Still confused, Matthew glanced down and, to his surprise, found that his feet were surrounded by sand, which was moving with them.

As the trio came closer to the Kibombo army, Matthew began to feel uncomfortable and wonder if this plan was going to actually work. Oddly enough, as they came closer, the soldiers paid them no mind, almost as if they were blatantly ignoring them. They continued, moving within inches of the marching soldiers before Crest slowed down. He breathed deeply, and pushed into the column. Matthew's eyes widened when Crest appeared to phase right through them, like they were specters. Askia followed, motioning for Matthew to do the same. Matthew pressed through the marching column, soldiers passing through him as he went. He finally emerged on the other side, and followed the brothers to a small clustering of trees about fifty yards away from the army.

Matthew finally reached them, and immediately began to ask questions. _Ok, would anyone like to tell me what the hell is going on? And what did you do to us?_

_Here, let me answer your second question first._ Crest raised his hand, which glowed with the same yellow light as before. The sand, which had stayed around their feet the entire way, quickly rose up and covered Matthew from head to toe. It stayed there for a brief second, then fell away to the ground. Matthew looked around for Crest and Askia, but found only two more piles of sand in the clearing. Another second later, the piles of sand also rose up and took the form of the brothers. The sand fell to the ground, revealing both of them.

"Nice trick, huh," Crest asked Matthew.

"Not bad, but it doesn't answer my first question."

"True, but let's talk about that on the road. I want to meet up with our parents soon," interrupted Askia.

"Fair enough," replied Matthew as they moved out of the clearing. "Let's begin with a little more on who both of you are."

"Well, as you can probably tell by now, Crest is a Venus Adept."

"I specialize in controlling and manipulating sand, but I'm still pretty good with the usual Venus powers," added Crest.

"Huh. You'll have to teach me some tricks sometime. Alright, how about you, Askia?"

"I'm not an Adept, so instead of learning how to control psynergy, I learned how to fight and defeat most anyone with sheer force and swordplay."

"He's damn good at it too," chimed in Crest. "He's beaten me on more than one occasion, and I'm not ashamed to say it. Anyway, we found you after we heard you scream. You were unconscious and lying on the ground near the vortex. Askia carried you back to our camp."

They both looked at Matthew with a waiting look in their eyes, expecting him to talk a little about himself next.

"Ok, I'm also a Venus Adept, but I can't say I have any kind of specialization. My parents are also warriors, but I don't have any brothers or sisters," replied Matthew. This appeared to strike a nerve with Askia, who bowed his head. "Hey, did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, no, it's just that that's the reason I want to reach mom and dad so fast. We have a little sister, but she was pulled into the vortex you came out of. We were hoping that either you or our parents could find out what happened to her."

"Is she an Adept," asked Matthew.

"Yes, but unlike me, she's a Mars Adept," replied Crest.

"Then the vortex could prove to be too much for her."

"Don't talk like that. She's too tough to let a little vortex get the best of her. She's a nice girl, but she's as stubborn as mom, if not more so," spouted Askia in reply.

Crest started laughing, and Matthew nodded and smiled.

"But to be honest, I'm glad she got away from you, Crest; you're a bad influence. I don't know what I would do if I had to deal with two of you."

"Now what is THAT supposed to mean?"

~(X)~

The two of them continued to argue well into the evening, which made traveling both more interesting and more annoying for Matthew. An inn came in to view as they topped a small hill, and Askia raised his hand and pointed.

"There, that is the inn that they told us to rendezvous at if we were delayed. Come on, I'm tired, and we have to tell them what happened."

Matthew and Crest nodded and picked up their pace, hurrying to the inn to meet with their parents. Matthew was rather interested to discover who these people were; they sounded like great parents and strong warriors.

The trio entered the inn and Askia headed to the desk, while Crest and Matthew started looking for their parents in the lounge and dining room.

"Hello, have a couple rented a room here recently" asked Askia.

"Indeed, they came in last night. They are in their room right now, if I'm not mistaken" replied the receptionist.

"Great, thank you."

"Sure thing. Will you also be getting a room?"

"Um, yes, I believe we will," replied Crest as he passed by.

"Very good. Here is your key; your room is upstairs and on the left."

"Thanks," replied Askia, waving Matthew to follow them.

Matthew quickly followed behind Askia, who went upstairs and put his things in the room before moving further down the hallway. Matthew did the same, and they rejoined Crest outside the only other door with an "occupied" sign over it.

"I hate to ask you to, but could you wait outside? This might get a little tense." asked Crest.

Matthew nodded, and the brothers stepped inside, closing the door behind them. After a few minutes of muted discussion, Askia came back out and nodded for Matthew to come in. Matthew breathed, and headed inside.

Crest was sitting in a chair in the corner, and there was a woman with long red hair, who Matthew assumed was their mother, standing beside the bed, looking out the window. She glanced at him, but turned back to the window. A man, who looked very much like Crest, but had a beard, was sitting on the bed. He stood up and walked over to Matthew, who paled in size to the man. He looked Matthew over, and then spoke.

"You look very familiar, who is your father?"

"Isaac of Vale."

At this, the woman turned and looked straight at Matthew. The man pressed another question "And your mother?"

"Jenna of Vale."

The man looked over to his wife, who gave him a glare in return.

Turning back to Matthew, he said, "I'm sorry, I suppose I should introduce us. This is my wife Karst, and I am Felix. I'm your uncle, Matthew."

A/N:

So, after a month of terrible tests and papers, I have returned with a new chapter.

Sorry it took so long, hopefully I can get more free time to write. Also, please review! This gives me more motivation to write than anything else.

As per Crest's sand psynergy, he gained the ability from Felix, but has more sand related abilities because he grew up with it.


	4. Tyrell Chapter 1: Awakening

**A/N**: SOOOO. After my second round of tests, I have a little time to get back to the story. This chapter introduces some more new faces, er, names I guess. As we come nearer to the end of the semester, I will probably find less and less time to write. After finals though, I should be able to establish a more regular schedule regarding updates. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

**Tyrell Chapter 1: Awakening**

He could feel it. The darkness rolled beneath him as he lay there, malevolent and yet passive in its nature. Each movement Tyrell made sent ripples outward through the seemingly infinite shadows. Perplexed, he reached out his arm and felt the darkness reach back, and felt the smooth, cold emptiness against his skin.

The darkness was not antagonistic of Tyrell or his presence, like what he remembered from his earlier encounters with vortexes. In fact, it was rather calm, almost pacifistic. That was what confused Tyrell so much. The vortexes back then spelled imminent catastrophe, yet he felt no such thing. The darkness seemed to respond to that thought, and began to roll beneath him. Surprised, Tyrell sat up and tried to look around. The lack of anything new was not as surprising.

The darkness continued to carry Tyrell forward as he continued to scan the darkness before him, hoping to find a way out. After what felt like hours, he finally spotted a small dot of light in the distance. The dot grew and grew as he came closer, until it was a gaping hole right before him. Taking a deep breath, he pushed forward and through the portal.

Tyrell was relieved to finally feel the rush of wind on his face and feel the sunshine's heat. His eyes adjusted to the light, but he didn't like what he saw. He was freefalling over a mountain range, and he didn't have much time before he hit the ground. Thinking quickly, he summoned all of the psynergy he could muster and stored it in his palms. He extended his arms towards the ground and unleashed his energy, hoping that it would slow him down enough to land safely. But something was wrong; instead of plumes of fire, huge pillars of shadows shot forth from his hands.

"NO, BAD PSYNERGY! BAD CRAP NO DAMMIT CRAAAAAAAP!" shouted Tyrell as he continued to fall. Oddly enough, the shadows seemed to slow him down, which made Tyrell stop shouting, at least a little. The shadows didn't slow him down enough though, and he hit the side of a mountain with a loud thud. He bounced off and continued to fall down the mountainside, occasionally colliding with a ledge or boulder. Tyrell tried to grab onto rocks and ledges as they flew by, but couldn't grasp anything.

The mountain's gradient slowly flattened out a little bit. He landed on a rough patch of rocks and shrubs, but continued to roll down the mountain. He spotted a large structure farther down the mountain, and oriented himself towards it, wincing as he did so. As he rolled, he slowed himself down enough to gain control of his speed, and brought himself to a stop about fifty yards away from that structure.

Tyrell lay there in agonizing pain, unable to stand or move any further. He breathed heavily and slowly with his ribs aching and cracking, sending blood into his lungs, making each gasp for air that much more difficult. He couldn't feel his legs, his right arm was unresponsive, and he was bleeding heavily. His Djinn materialized and floated around him, giving him what healing energy they could muster. Tyrell held on to consciousness as long as he could, but he finally slipped into a cold sleep.

~(X)~

Tyrell awoke on a bed in a dark room, dimly lit and constructed of giant stones. He looked around, and saw only a burning torch and a wooden door that appeared rather decrepit. What disturbed him most was not the fact that he was in a strange place, but rather that he didn't feel anything. No pain, no cold, nothing. Lifting the sheets, he looked himself over, trying to find some sort of wound or other proof that what he had experienced actually happened. He gave himself a thorough examination, but found no cuts or scars.

He stood up and opened the door, peering into the dark hallway beyond. The stones that constituted the walls were familiar, if only slightly. Tyrell's room was at the end of the hall, so he took the only available pathway forward. After rounding a few corners, he emerged in a large cavern. Taking in his new surroundings, he noticed a tall, dark-haired man standing behind a control panel on a ledge slightly below him. The man looked up, and noticing Tyrell, he immediately began to make his way up to him.

"Whoa there, I'm not quite finished patching you up quite yet; you sustained enough wounds to destroy a man, but you pulled through." The man helped Tyrell to a sitting position and began to perform healing psynergy.

"That's weird, I don't feel any pain," replied Tyrell.

"That would be because I gave you a rather large amount of sedatives. I'm Cain by the way, and you are?"

"I'm Tyrell. You're using healing psynergy… are you a Mercury Adept?"

Cain continued to administer psynergy as he started talking. "No, I can't say I am, not like the ones you are familiar with anyway. I picked up some of these healing techniques while I was Imil a few decades back. There were only two Mercury Adepts at the time, and I actually saved one of them after they had been caught in a snowstorm. While we waited it out, he taught me what he could about healing. We traded stories and knowledge for a while, and we became friends. He told me that his parents had died from illness, and his psynergy wasn't enough to help them. He never wanted to lose anyone like that again, so I told him about the old legend of Hermes' Waters, and that there were some people that would be willing to help him. After that, the storm had passed and we went back to Imil. I left the day after, and he left not long after I did."

"What ever happened to him?"

"He met some friends and traveled with them, but we still meet up when we can." Standing up, Cain helped Tyrell stand, and pointed to the door Tyrell had just come out of. "I'm all finished with your healing. Your things are in a room just down that hallway."

"Thanks, hey where are we anyway?"

"We are under the Konpa Ruins right now, in the chamber that splits between the north and what's left of the south entrances. Why?"

"Nothing, It's just that I've been here before. Not long ago, actually."

"Really? You'll have to tell me about your trip down here. It must have been rather exciting."

Tyrell laughed a little, and said with a smile, "Oh yes, but I'll get back to you on that one." With that, Tyrell went and found his bag, but his sword was nowhere to be found. He headed back to the chamber and found Cain back behind the panel, tinkering with some of the controls.

"Hey, where's my sword at?"

"Hmm? Sorry, you didn't have a sword on you when I found you."

"Damn. Must've lost it while I was falling."

"Don't worry about it. I can make you a better one, provided we can find some materials."

"Really? Wow, that's a tall order. My old sword was pretty powerful."

"As any good sword should be." Cain climbed up to the ledge Tyrell was on and walked through the doorway. "But let's talk about that while we move." He led Tyrell down the hallway and around a few corners before opening a door. There were stairs past the door, and the duo proceeded up and out of the ruins.

~(X)~

Tyrell and Cain exited the ruins and found themselves in a thick forest, and they traveled north until they came close to a road. Cain stopped for a second, and motioned for Tyrell to do the same. Cain pointed to a small group traveling along the road, and Tyrell quickly realized why they had stopped. The group on the road was a Tuaparang patrol. There were three soldiers and a captive, which they led by a chain. Cain and Tyrell hid in a bush beside the road, and waited for the soldiers to come within earshot.

The first soldier looked back at the captive and inquired, "How much do you think she'll fetch at market?"

The second cocked his head and replied, "It better be a lot, she nearly bit me earlier."

The third, who was carrying a bag, was looking through it. "Well, she's got some good stuff in here. We can probably make a decent amount of coin after selling her and all her stuff."

If there was one thing Tyrell hated more than anything, it was slavery. He couldn't stand the thought of one person owning another. He began to get angry, and once the patrol came within range, he charged out of the bushes, much to Cain's dismay.

Tyrell tackled the first soldier and took his sword from its sheath, then stabbed it through the man's neck. Tyrell readied some psynergy in his hand as the third fired a crossbow bolt at him. As he unleashed the psynergy, dark waves emanated from his palm, forcing the bolt away.

The second soldier charged with his sword drawn, which Tyrell easily parried. The third soldier readied his crossbow again, and Tyrell grabbed the other soldier, using him as a human shield. The bolt went right through the man's eye, and he went limp.

Tyrell dropped the body and rushed the third soldier, but he was already on his knees with his head hung in an unnatural fashion. Standing behind the soldier's body was the young woman, who had apparently used Tyrell's distraction to sneak up behind the man and snap his neck.

She stepped backwards and gave Tyrell a wary look. Sensing her distress, Cain came forward and motioned for Tyrell to put away the sword. He did so, and Cain began to speak to the girl.

"We mean you no harm. You are free now, so you may do as you wish. Tyrell, let's be off. Oh, and please don't try to single handedly slaughter every patrol we come across, at least let me help if you're going to do that." The duo began to walk away, but the girl cried out to them.

"Wait, who are you, and where am I? I have so many questions!"

They turned around and Cain replied, "I am Cain, and this young man is Tyrell. As for where you are, this area is southern Bilibin. Why do you ask?"

She came forward with her bag, and replied is a scared voice, "You're going to think I'm crazy, but hear me out. I got sucked into one of those huge black holes, and I ended up right around here. Those soldiers ambushed and nearly killed me." She looked right at Tyrell and said, "If it wasn't for you, they probably would have sold or executed me. I owe you my life, thank you."

Now that he had a good view of the girl, Tyrell noticed something he didn't notice before; she was, well, hot. She had bright red hair that came down to her shoulders and piercing blue eyes. She looked to be about Tyrell's age, maybe a year or two younger. Regardless, she was beautiful, and Tyrell's blushing cheeks were letting Cain know exactly what he was thinking.

"I, uh, it was nothing, don't mention it, ha… ha," he stammered. Cain chuckled at him, which earned him a glare from Tyrell.

The girl continued, "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Krystalia, but you can call me Kristi. Would you mind if I accompanied you, at least until I can make it back to my family?"

Cain smiled and replied, "Absolutely. Where is your family, if I may ask?"

"We were in southern Gondowan when I was sucked into the portal."

Cain whistled. "That's a pretty good distance from here."

"I know. It really sucks, though. I left my weapon back there too; I can't even fight to pay you pack."

Tyrell smiled, turned to Cain and said, "Well, looks like you've got another forging order to fill."

"Indeed I do. Hey you two, the sun's going down. We should get moving before it gets dark."

The newly formed trio began to head along the road, and it wasn't long before they arrived at an inn. Upon reaching the inn, Cain rented them all rooms and they headed to bed. Tyrell was just about to go to sleep when there was a knock on his door. He swung open the door, and found Kristi standing on the other side.

She looked around and began, "Hey, I was just wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Okay, you know when you were fighting those soldiers earlier? That psynergy you used, what was that? I'm a Mars Adept, but I've never seen black psynergy before."

Tyrell hesitated, "I, I'm not sure what it is either. I was going to ask Cain if he knew anything about it in the morning. He strikes me as the kind of guy who knows about obscure stuff like that."

"Okay, well, sorry to bother you. Good night." She began to turn around, but stopped. "Tyrell?"

"Yes?"

She hugged him and whispered into his ear, "Thank you." He hugged her back and they stood there for a moment before she bade him good night again and headed off to her room.

**A/N**: And so we are introduced to Cain and Kristi. Like them? Hate them? Meh? Let me know! I debated making this update quite a bit darker, but I wasn't sure if I could keep it T-rated. If you think my writing would be better darker, (and this story will get dark regardless) then tell me.

Now, what time is it? Review response time, y'all.

First off, I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. Reviews are what keep me going and what make me want to keep writing.

FlameUser64: I understand your concern with the size difference, and I now realize I probably should have used a word other than "paled" for that comparison. Still, I do think that Felix is bigger than Matthew, in both height but mostly in girth. Matthew is a tall individual, but he is lean and built for speed, whereas I always envision Felix (and Piers, for that matter) being a tall man who is also built wide, like Tyrell or Garet.

Auf Wiedersehen!


	5. Karis Chapter 2 : Intervention

A/N: Hello again, everyone! I hope this update finds you in good spirits, and if not, then I hope that this update makes your day a little better.

**Karis Chapter 2: Intervention**

Karis took a few steps back and sat down on a chair, nervously letting out a few laughs as she went. "Ha, ha… No way we're in Anemos, that's just, just impossible." She stared Ivy down, "Isn't it?"

"Uh, no, no it's not" she replied, frowning and putting her hands on her hips.

"But the crater near Contigo, the legends, they weren't supposed to be real…"

"Do you really not believe me?" Ivy marched over to Karis and grabbed her hand, pulling for her to get up. "Come on! I'll show you!"

Karis got up and allowed Ivy to lead her by the hand. She pulled Karis through the huge double doors and began to lead her down some of the same hallways that she had just came through. They took a few different turns, and eventually Karis was confronted by another pair of ornate double doors. Ivy didn't even reach for the handle; instead she conjured a gust of Jupiter psynergy and used it to push open the doors.

"You're a Jupiter Adept?"

Ivy smiled back at her, "Yep, everyone in my family is."

They walked through and emerged on a balcony. Karis gasped as she took in the view. Huge metal buildings stretched skyward, gleaming in the sun's rays. A light mist wafted between the towers, causing the sun's orange glow to spread throughout the air.

"By Iris… you weren't lying."

Ivy sighed, "Of course I wasn't! Why would I?"

Karis looked over the edge of the balcony, "I don't know, I guess I just, hey what's going on down there?"

Ivy walked over and peered over as well. "Oh yeah, that's the parade. Big brother's having a really big ceremony today. They called it a coromaton? No, it was a colonation… no, that's not it either…"

"You mean a coronation?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

"You mean your brother is to be crowned?"

Ivy smiled, "Yeah, but he said I didn't have to come for the whole ceremony, so I decided to play in the palace for a little while. That's when you popped in. Hey do you want to go down and join them? The partying part is almost done, but you can still have some fun before all of the serious stuff starts."

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Why not?"

"Awesome! Let's get down there!" Ivy took Karis by the hand again and pulled her down some more hallways before arriving at a platform in a tall shaft. Ivy pressed a button on the platform's control panel, and there was a faint hum that filled the surrounding air. Karis stumbled when the platform started moving downwards. Ivy giggled and leaned against one of the guard rails on the platform.

"Have you really never been on an elevator before?"

"No, no I haven't," replied Karis as she regained her balance. "How does this thing work, anyway?"

"The same way as almost everything in Anemos does. It's powered by psynergy from the Turbine."

"Turbine? What's that?"

Ivy sighed and took on a contemplative look. "How would I explain it? It's a giant psynergy machine. It looks like a fan, and it turns really fast and it keeps Anemos in the sky."

Karis looked at Ivy with a somewhat surprised look on her face. "A machine… wait, I've seen something similar to that back on Weyard. Have you ever heard of the Alchemy Well or Alchemy Forge?"

Ivy tilted her head, "Mm, no, I haven't ever heard of those, but the scientists call our machine the Alchemy Turbine, so maybe they're similar?"

Karis shrugged. The platform slowed to a stop and Ivy again led Karis through a doorway.

Ivy giggled, "Just one more hallway and we'll be out on the streets!"

Ivy and Karis jogged down the hallway and out onto the crowded street beyond. Ivy breathed deeply, and started to look around for something. Karis followed her through the crowd, dodging passersby and those watching the celebration. Ivy stopped at a booth and called Karis over. Karis walked over and Ivy eagerly pointed to the merchant's wares. "See those masks on the wall? It's an old tradition to wear one at major events."

Karis nodded and pointed to a purple one with black feathers and white beads. "I think that one is really pretty."

Ivy pulled out a small purse and handed the merchant a few coins. "I'll take the purple one and… that blue one on the left." The man nodded and handed them the two masks. They put them on and Ivy led Karis through the crowds surrounding the parade so they could get a better view.

"Karis! Look at all the floats!"

"They're huge! How do they make them so big?"

"I don't know. I asked one time, but they said it was a trade secret."

Ivy and Karis watched the parade for a few minutes, and were showered more than once with confetti and some form of hard candy that Karis wasn't familiar with. She tried it, but she didn't like the taste, so Ivy ate hers. Ivy pointed to the last float as it passed by. "Look Karis, it's big brother and his girlfriend!"

Karis saw a man and a woman sitting in an ornately decorated gold and purple carriage atop the float. The man was handsome with blond hair and purple eyes, and had an air of confidence and charisma about him. The woman was rather striking as well, with long, silver hair and a veil that covered her face. She was more reserved, but retained a regal appearance before the masses. The crowds around Ivy and Karis yelled out, and the man and woman waved to their admirers. Ivy tried to get her brother's attention, but he didn't see her amidst the celebrating citizens.

"Aw, darn. Hey Karis, do you want to meet my brother? He's really nice. I think you would like him."

"Yeah, I'd like to meet him."

"Awesome! Come on, I'll take you to him!" Ivy led Karis back through the crowds and to the hallway they had come out of. They took the platform again, but stopped at a different level this time. They went around the corner and saw a group standing around a door. Karis could see the man and woman from the float enter the room, and bid farewell to the people in the group. They dispersed, and Karis and Ivy made their way closer to the door.

There were two guards posted outside the door, but Ivy simply walked up and smiled and waved to them. They smiled back and one of them asked her, "Hey Ivy, enjoy the parade?"

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun, and I made a new friend today too!"

"Oh really?" The guards noticed Karis and inquired, "Is that her?"

"Yep, her name is Karis. She's really nice, and she's an Adept too!"

"Wow, that's cool." The first guard turned to Karis and continued, "Neither one of us are Adepts, but there are quite a few in the Royal Guard. You should consider enlisting, if you don't have any plans for the future. We're always looking for talented young men and women to protect and serve Anemos."

Not wanting to sound rude, Karis gave as polite a reply as she could come up with, "Hmm, I'll think about it. Anyway, I think Ivy wanted me to meet her brother. Is that ok?"

The guards looked at each other, and nodded. "It should be fine so long as Ivy is with you. If you need anything while you're in there, let us know."

Ivy piped up, "Thanks guys!"

The guards chuckled a bit and opened the doors, nodding to Ivy and Karis as they went in, then closed the doors behind them. They turned a corner and entered a large room with a window on one side. The man was standing by it, looking out at the city beyond, and the woman was sitting in a chair facing away from Ivy and Karis. Neither one noticed them come in, so they started to walk over to them. Before they got far, the woman suddenly got up, unsheathed a knife, and lifted it over her head, ready to strike the man down. Ivy let out a scream, and Karis summoned one of her Djinn.

"Doldrum, stop her!" The spirit leapt out towards the woman and halted the air around her, stopping her before she could deal the blow. The man turned and fell back, stunned at the sight of his love brandishing a knife meant for his back.

Karis called out, "Guards! Get in here, now!" Not even a second later, the two men were in the room, weapons drawn. "Get him out of here, and arrest that woman. She just tried to kill him." They complied, and one took the man out of the room while the other placed the woman in handcuffs.

Karis turned to Ivy, whose skin had turned pale white. She kneeled down and extended her hand to Ivy. "Hey, Ivy… are you ok? This is probably hard for you to take in. We should get you out of here too."

Ivy slowly nodded her head and took Karis' hand. They walked out of the room as a dozen more guards came running down the hallway. One of them was older and dressed differently, and began giving orders to the others. "Alright, Bravo squad, get Lord Aero to his room and lock it down, I don't want anyone getting near him. Gamma squad, take Lady Noelle down to the hold. I don't know what came over her, but I'm going to find out."

The guards broke into groups of four and carried out their orders. One of the leftover guards asked the leader, "General Dieter, what should we do with Lady Ivy and her companion?"

Dieter looked Karis over and raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the girl that came flying out of that damned vortex?"

Karis looked him over as well and replied, "I am. I'm also the one who just saved that man's life."

"Hahaha, you've got spark kid, I like that. Alright, Theta squad, get Ivy and her friend to one of the suites. They can rest there until we get this mess sorted out."

Theta squad broke off and walked Ivy and Karis to a plush suite. As they went in, one of the guards mentioned, "The General will probably take a while investigating this, so feel free to rest. We'll wake you when he needs you." Karis nodded and went inside. Karis sat down with Ivy and hugged her tightly. Karis' Djinn manifested and began to chirp to Ivy, doing what they could to help her feel better.

Ivy sniffed and hugged Karis back, and began to cry. Karis rocked back and forth, and let Ivy cry on her shoulder as she did. They stayed like that for hours until Ivy fell into a deep sleep. Karis laid her on a couch and covered her with a blanket, then laid down on another couch and fell asleep herself.

~(X)~

A/N: An assassination attempt in the second chapter of Karis' story? Quite an introduction to Anemos, no? Explanations for all of that will come, but you'll just have to wait.

Aero is Ivy's brother and heir to the throne of Anemos, and Noelle is his now ex-girlfriend and would've been assassin, just to clarify.

On a side note, I recently joined an online GS fan community called Adept's Refuge, and I really like it so far. There are some pretty cool people, and they've all been very welcoming. My name over there is Umbra_Clan, so hopefully I'll see some of you on the forums (and eventually the RP, once I figure it out) sometime.

Thanks for reading, and a special nod to those who have taken the time to drop a review for me, it means a lot. Speaking of which…

JamesK716: The whole reason for Kristi's combat prowess is hinted at in the previous chapter(s), and lines can be drawn between certain people and Kristi if you look hard enough. Of course, I'll put a plain explanation in coming chapters for those who didn't pick up on all of that, or just don't want to look for it.

Auf Wiedersehen!


	6. Matthew Chapter 2: Roses and Rescues

Randomly longer than normal hiatus aside, here's Matthew's second chapter, which is actually much longer than any of my other chapters so far. Prepare for some backstory. Enjoy!

**Matthew Chapter 2: Roses and Rescues**

"U-Uncle? What?" stammered Matthew, hardly able to fit the idea through his head. The large man in front of him was his uncle, and the woman by the window was his aunt… but his parents said that they hadn't heard from Felix in decades, so was this really him?

"I can understand if you're a little surprised Matthew. We haven't exactly been in touch with my sister over the past few years. But all of that can wait till tomorrow. It's late, and we need to rest for the journey tomorrow. Crest, Askia, we'll be taking the ship out. Now go get some sleep." Felix spoke with such authority, the voice of a man who had been a leader for many years, and the flow with which he spoke radiated with all of that experience. The woman, who Felix had introduced as Karst, simply watched as Matthew and his cousins exited the room.

When they were out in the hallway, Askia closed the door behind them and Crest gave Matthew a light punch on the shoulder and said "And why exactly didn't you tell us you're family?"

"What, like I knew? Heck, I'm just as surprised as you are!"

Askia gently grabbed Crest and moved him away from Matthew. "Hey, relax, we'll sort everything out in the morning. Besides, we need some rest. We did leave the ship a good ways away from here, if I remember correctly."

"Fine, fine. See ya in the morning, cousin." Crest turned and waved over his shoulder as he and Askia went to their room.

"Yeah, later guys…" Matthew turned and went to his own room, but he laid on his bed for hours, just trying to remember what his parents had told him about his uncle.

**~(X)~**

Matthew rose early in the morning, just like he always did. He spent a little longer than usual getting ready though, some anxiety flowing through his veins about getting properly acquainted with the man he had heard so much about, yet had never met. He packed away his things and exited the bedroom, heading downstairs to the lobby. He entered the next room and found Felix standing by the window drinking from a tall glass. He turned towards Matthew and gave a small smile. He glanced down to the table and nodded towards a pot of what Matthew assumed was tea sitting on the table. Matthew poured himself a glass and went to stand by Felix.

"So, you're another one of the Warriors of Vale, like my parents…" Matthew's voice wavered a bit, which Felix apparently paid no mind to.

"Yep. You look like your father… Almost eerily so. You've even got his old scarf. How are they doing, your parents?"

"Well, I don't know to be completely honest. When we reached the cabin Isaac and Garet live in, they weren't there. I haven't been to Kalay to see how mom's doing either."

Felix frowned. He looked out the window for a minute, then turned to Matthew. "Well, they're both tough. I don't think that there's any reason to worry too much. But how were they the last time you saw them?"

Matthew took a sip of the tea before speaking. "Mom lives in Kalay. She still looks like she's in her twenties, same for dad. Dad's observing Mt. Aleph along with Garet, and mom's working with Ivan down in Kalay. Oh, and mom doesn't like it much, but dad grew a beard a few years ago. It's not as big as yours though."

Felix chuckled. "Oh boy. I can't even imagine Isaac with a beard… What kind of beard is it?"

Matthew thought for a second, bringing up the best image of his father he could. "It's thin and stretches around his jawline." Matthew traced his father's beard out on his own face with this finger.

Felix grimaced a bit. "Eh, you mean he went with a chinstrap? Damn, that's tragic. Promise me you won't grow a beard like your father's, Matthew."

Matthew didn't really understand, but he nodded anyway.

"Good. Blondes hardly ever look good with beards anyway."

After Felix said this, he finished off his drink and placed the cup back on the table. Karst walked into the room and glanced at Matthew, giving him a surprisingly cold glare. She quickly turned her attention to Felix and leaned on the table.

"We should get moving. I have no intention of getting caught by the Kibombo army. The boys are already waiting outside." Karst's voice was icy, but Matthew felt as though a great fire burned beneath the cold surface, ready to burn any who dared to dig too deep.

"Right. Matthew, do you have any plans?"

Matthew shook his head, "Not really. I still don't have any idea how I got here, much less what I'm supposed to do."

"Well then, you're welcome to accompany us. I'm sure you'll work things out, but for now, we welcome you to our side of the family." Matthew nodded. Felix smiled and Karst walked out of the room, with Matthew and Felix not far behind.

Crest and Askia saw them coming out of the inn, and Askia asked, "So which way to the ship from here?"

Karst pointed to the northeast, "We left it in a clearing in that direction. We should be able to reach it by nightfall, provided we don't waste too much more time."

Crest readjusted his bag and vial, and started off where Karst had pointed, with the rest not far behind.

**~(X)~**

Matthew had started to sweat as the day wore on, and by now his shirt was almost completely soaked. They had entered a forested area, but the air was hot, humid, and stagnant, so the shade didn't help much, if at all. They eventually crossed a stream, and Matthew took the opportunity to refill his canteen. Crest did the same, and Matthew couldn't help but notice that he didn't fill the vial on his back as well.

"Hey Crest, why don't you fill up that vial you're carrying?"

Crest laughed a bit. "Hahaha, because it's not for carrying water, that's why."

"Alright, then what's it for?"

"I use it to carry sand. Not just any sand though, it's special. I've infused every grain of the stuff with psynergy," Crest said as he gave the vial a pat.

"He uses it to fight, actually" Askia piped in.

Matthew paused momentarily. "Really? How do you do that?"

"Like this." Crest opened the vial and lifted some of the sand out with his psynergy. He twirled the sand around his palm for a second, then flicked his wrist towards a tree. The sand shot from his hand at a blinding speed and lodged itself in the tree's trunk, solidified into a long, thin needle shape. Crest flexed his hand, and the needle dislodged from the tree and dissolved back into its granular form, which Crest placed back in the vial.

"What did I say about wasting time?" Crest flinched as he heard his mother's voice.

"Ha, yeah, sorry. I'll show you more later, Matthew."

"Yeah, sure." Matthew turned to Askia as they started on their way and asked, "So what are you good at?"

Askia smirked a bit and replied, "You already know I'm not an adept, so I don't have any flashy moves to show off. What I do have is one of dad's old blades, Excalibur. I can't use psynergy on my own, but this blade helps level the playing field if I ever face an adept."

"Oh yeah, my dad told me a story about that sword one time. He said it was one of the few swords in the world that could stand up to the Sol Blade. Speaking of which," Matthew reached up and unsheathed the Sol Blade strapped to his back, to which Crest whistled.

"Well look at that, Matthew's packing some serious heat."

Felix stopped and walked over to Matthew. "That's the sword we found in Mars Lighthouse. Where on Weyard did you find this?"

"I found it stuck in a pedestal atop the Apollo Sanctum. Why?"

"Because I lost that sword over the edge of the Lighthouse in our final battle against the dragon. I never did find it. I wonder if…"

"Um, wonder what?"

"Nothing, Matthew. I'll explain once we get back to the ship. We're not too far now, it should be just a little farther down this way."

Crest perked up when he heard this. "Ah, good thing. I missed the old girl."

"Just what kind of ship are we talking about here? I don't think we're near any kind of water," Matthew finally asked.

"Oh you're in for a surprise," Karst replied with a smirk.

Matthew started to get anxious about reaching the ship after that.

**~(X)~**

After another few minutes of walking, the group arrived a stone wall covered in vines and patches of moss. Felix felt the wall for a second, and then stepped back. He extended his palms towards the wall, then clenched them shut and pulled back. Matthew watched as the wall collapsed outwards, revealing an opening beyond.

But before they could enter through, a dozen figures dropped down out of the trees, catching Matthew's group off guard. Matthew recognized them instantly. Tuaparang soldiers.

Askia frowned. "Damn, now what?"

Karst glared at the soldiers, who hesitated a bit.

They quickly regained their composure, crossbows at the ready. One of them spoke, "Alright you maggots, we finally found you. Now you're going to be good little prisoners and come alo- gah!"

As he was speaking, bolts of lightning fell from the skies and struck each of the soldiers, quickly incapacitating them. A lone figure emerged from the trees. It was a woman with long blonde hair, whose face was concealed by a white mask with only two eyes cut out and a long, thin mouth painted on. She approached the group, but only Matthew readied himself to face her, should she be hostile. He glanced around at the others, and Karst walked forward and met the woman.

The woman stopped and placed her right fist over her chest and said, "Greetings. I'm reporting under order from the Purple Rose. I'm to follow your orders and continue my training."

"The Purple Rose, eh? How's she holding up?" Karst spoke with her usual cold voice, but the woman seemed undaunted.

"She's fine, and has found another apprentice to train. It's another Jupiter adept, like me."

Felix stepped forward. "That's good to hear. You said you're here to continue your training?"

"That's right."

"Then remove your mask. You are among friends here."

"Yes, sir."

She took the mask off, revealing beautiful purple eyes that shone despite the poor lighting under the trees. Her skin was pale, and a large x-shaped scar covered part of her jaw and neck.

"I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Erika, Sheba's ex-apprentice. I already am aware of who Karst, the Red Pose and Felix, the Black Rose are, but I don't know the other members of your group," She said, nodding to Karst and Felix as she recited their titles. Erika gave a slight bow, then looked the three boys over. "And you all are…?"

Askia spoke first, "Pardon our manners, I am Askia, and the sod staring at you over there is my brother Crest."

Erika glanced over at Crest and blushed. "Damn… she's so hot," whispered Crest under his breath. Askia promptly walked over to him and gave him a solid thwack on the head, and began to lecture him on having respect for women.

Erika stepped back a bit, then remembered that she still hadn't asked about Matthew yet. "Oh, and who are you?"

"The name's Matthew. I'm Felix's nephew, Isaac and Jenna's son. Nice to meet you."

Erika smiled, "The same to you. So all three of you are children of the Warriors of Vale?"

"Yes, we are. But I have one question you, why did you call Sheba the Purple Rose?"

Felix stepped forward this time and said, "Well Matthew, there's a bit of explaining to be done. Let's make way to the ship, and I'll tell you as we walk."

Karst leaned over to her sons and grabbed them by the collars, pulling them apart. "Come on, you knuckleheads. Let's go."

The brothers skulked all the way back to the ship in silence.

Felix started his story. "Alright, so you know we unleashed Alchemy after we lit the lighthouses, right?" Matthew nodded. "Well, we didn't want the world to use the power wrongfully, so I decided to form an organization that would help guide humanity to use this new power for good, instead using it for war or for selfish gain. I called it the Rose Order. I invited all of the others to join, and Sheba, Piers, Kraden, and Ivan all said they would join. Isaac, Mia, Garet, and Jenna said they would rather just settle down, but Isaac and Garet told me that they would watch over Mt. Aleph for me, and Mia let me know that she would monitor the Mercury Lighthouse, so I left them to their new work."

"We spread throughout Weyard, helping rebuild and teach how to use Alchemy to better people's lives. We gained new members as the years went on, taking on apprentices like Erika here. Karst and I took the duty of watching over the Osenia and Indra continents, Sheba watches over Atteka and Hesperia, Ivan cares for Angara and Gondowan, and Piers takes care of the northern reaches and Tundaria, though he tends to use that ship of his to travel and help wherever he can. Over the years, our apprentices graduated from our tutelage and spread out, helping to spread our reach of influence and our teachings."

"Recently, Ivan alerted us to the Grave Eclipse in Angara, and we've been traveling that way since. We ran into some trouble with a psynergy vortex, but we're back on track now. Unfortunately, when my kids went out to investigate the vortex, my daughter Kristi was caught up and sucked in. You came out a day later."

Felix stopped for a brief second, "You know, I had my suspicions about who might be behind the Eclipse, but those soldiers back there confirmed it. It's the Tuaparang."

Matthew took the opportunity to speak. "You're right. Me and my friends just recently stopped it though…" Matthew trailed off, lost in thought.

Erika piped up, "Uh, Matthew, are you alright?"

Matthew quickly came back to the present, "Yeah, I was just thinking about my friends back home. I don't know if they're ok. One of them, Karis, Ivan's daughter, got sucked in right before I did, and I don't know if Tyrell, Garet's son, got away."

Erika spoke up again, "Well if you're alright, then they should be fine too, right? We just need to find them!"

Matthew smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

"Good, good. Now, we're here. Say hello to our ship, guys," Felix said as they entered a clearing. Matthew and Erika gasped. At the center sat a large metal airship, larger than most buildings that Matthew had seen over his journey. Two large rings sat near the top of the ship, protruding outward on each side. A single ring was located at the rear of the ship, and there were doors on each side that opened with a hiss when Felix pressed a button code on the outside.

"Wow, this thing is awesome! Do you have a name for it?" Erika squealed.

"Yep, we call it the Vale. Since my hometown was destroyed, this old thing has become a bit of a new home. A flying home, but a home all the same," Felix said as he looked up at the massive airship.

Matthew stepped inside and found the space to be rather open. There was one door at each end of the open area. He walked over to the door that was towards the front half of the Vale and opened it. The room beyond was dark, and Matthew had to squint to try to see what was contained within. Crest walked in behind him and pressed a button on the wall, chuckling as he did so. A light flickered on above Matthew, causing him to jump a little.

"Matthew, each room on the ship has a light, you just have to hit the button."

"Yeah, alright, I got it," Matthew said in a disgruntled tone.

Crest laughed and walked through a door on the other side of the room as Matthew continued to look around. There was a rack of Tua crossbows on one wall and a few uniforms on the other, with some drawers underneath each. Felix walked through the door from the central area, and noticed Matthew studying the crossbows.

"I guess you're wondering why we have Tua gear in our ship, huh?"

"Yeah, I was kinda wondering that."

"That's another story. It's not quite as long as the Rose Order story though. I don't think so, at least. Anyway, it started where our adventure to unleash Alchemy ended. After we had returned to see Mt. Aleph, I traveled back to Mars Lighthouse to see if I could find Karst, Agatio, and the Sol Blade. Piers of course came too, it was on his ship that I got there in the first place. Once we got there though, we encountered Tuaparang troops for the first time. We took care of them without much trouble, but they had already taken Karst and Agatio. They had taken them off in one of these airships, but there were still a few more of them waiting outside the Lighthouse."

Felix paused and leaned against a wall before continuing. "We managed to hide away on one of these ships, and found ourselves in the Tuaparang homeship before long. We stole some uniforms and proceeded to search for Karst and Agatio. We had no idea where to look, so we started just searching floor by floor. The homeship is huge, though, so it was almost a week and a half before we were able to locate the chamber Karst and Agatio were being held in. It was slow going, but we had finally found Karst."

Crest popped his head in the door and interjected, "Hey dad, sorry to interrupt, but we're all set in the cockpit for takeoff. How about everyone else?"

"Hold on a second. I'll check." Felix stuck his head out the door and yelled out side, "All aboard! We're taking the sky!" Karst, Askia and Erika heard it, and they moved to the center of the ship as Felix hit a button to close the side doors.

Matthew turned his head and asked, "Taking the sky? What does that mean?"

Felix tuned back to him and replied, "I'm not really sure. Garet yelled that when we flew in Piers' ship for the first time, and it sort of caught on. I guess I never stopped to think about it. Sounds a little dumb, doesn't it?"

Matthew shook his head. "Not at all. But anyway, you were saying?"

Felix nodded. "Right. We found their room, but when we went in, only Karst was in there. The Tua had apparently been trying to heal her. Her condition was rough, but the Mars light had brought her back from the brink. I didn't understand it at first, but then Agatio emerged through another door. We told him to come with us, but he just stared at us like he had never seen us before. They had done something to him, because next he shot a wave of dark psynergy at us. I grabbed Karst and we ran, straight back to the docking bays, causing as much damage as we could on the way. As soon as we reached the bays, we were ambushed by a small group of Tua soldiers. I thought we were done for, but then two of them start taking out their own guys. Of course we take advantage of this, and together we take them out pretty quickly. One of them takes off his helmet and says that he's actually a spy working to take down the Tuaparang. He said his name is Dieter, and that he could get us out of there alive, if we trusted him."

"I didn't know what else to do, so we followed him and his friend to the airships. His friend and Piers took one, and the rest of us took another. Dieter and his friend piloted the airships, and Piers and I each mounted the turrets on top. We took off, and barely escaped the slew of fighter ships that followed us by using a nearby storm as cover. We returned to Prox, and they landed the ships. We thanked them for saving us, and they asked us to help fight the Tuaparang in the future. We of course agreed, and so Dieter actually taught me and Piers how to pilot the airships."

"Piers healed Karst as best he could, and she later made a full recovery. Dieter never did tell us where he was from or anything like that, but he told us we had a common enemy in the Tua, but that was all I needed to know. They left on one of the airships, and I took the other one to Osenia. Karst and I got married, and had kids a few years later. The rest is history."

"You know, you're pretty good at telling stories," Matthew said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, well, I'm getting tired of telling them. Hey Crest, make room up there. We're heading to Kalay. We need to meet up with Ivan and find out more about what's going on up in Angara," yelled Felix as he climbed into the cockpit.

**~(X)~**

**A/N:** So, Felix has been busy since the Golden Sun event, eh?

Some people were wondering about Kristi in the last chapter, and why she had some kind of combat experience. Well, in case you missed it, I buried a little hint as to why that is in this chapter.

I really hope I didn't bore anyone with my excessive amount of backstory in this chapter. I probably won't be doing that in the future. Of course, if anyone has questions or criticisms, then by all means voice them!

Reviews are always appreciated, it really helps me to get motivated to keep writing. Shoutout to all you guys that have reviewed so far, it means a lot.

Review responses!

JamesK716: Thanks, I'm glad you think so! I was wondering how best to portray Karis, and I'm excited that it came across well.

Thanks for reading, see ya next time! Auf Wiedersehen!


	7. Tyrell Chapter 2: The Forge's Fire

**Tyrell Chapter 2: The Forge's Fire**

Tyrell awoke in the inn and rolled over in his bed, groaning as the sun caught him in the eyes. He tried to roll over more, but ended up rolling completely out of the bed, and hit the floor with a loud thud. He sat up and rubbed his head, looking around wearily as he did so. He grabbed his bag and stood up, rummaging through it for his clothes. He took his time getting dressed, then lazily opened the door and proceeded down to the inn's lobby. To his surprise, Kristi and Cain were already downstairs, and they both looked up as Tyrell walked in.

"Hey there sunshine, sleep well?" Cain spoke with a hint of playful sarcasm layered in his voice, but Tyrell was too tired to notice.

Kristi stood up and spoke next. "Morning, Tyrell! Cain and I were just talking about what we should do next." Tyrell nodded for her to continue. "Well since neither of us really know where we are or where to go next, Cain's offered to let us both accompany him for a little while. Sound good?"

Tyrell finally made a verbal reply, "Yeah, that's cool with me. So where do we go from here, Cain?"

"I thought about that a little last night. If I remember correctly, a merchant I know should live in a village somewhere around here. He's a good man, with better wares. He's probably got some high grade materials for me to make you both those weapons you need."

"Great! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Kristi declared with a smile plastered on her face.

Tyrell found Kristi's abundant amount of energy this early in the morning to be rather disturbing.

**~(X)~**

The trio had barely left the inn before Cain had forgotten which direction his friend's village was in. After going back to ask the innkeeper, they finally started off in the right direction.

Tyrell hated awkward silence, so he immediately started trying to make conversation.

"Hey Cain, you remember the fight yesterday, when I used black psynergy? What was that exactly?"

"Well that was dark psynergy. Why? Are you not a natural dark adept?"

"No, I'm a Mars adept. But for whatever reason I used that dark psynergy yesterday. I don't even know how."

"Ah. I see. And that was the first time that's happened?"

"No, the second actually. How did you know?"

Cain grinned a little. "You did it all wrong, that's why. Everything from the way you dodged to your footwork was all different from how a dark adept would fight."

A pained expression came over Tyrell as he heard this. "Man, really?"

Cain nodded. "Yep. Don't worry about it though. I can help you learn how to control your new gifts, if you're up for it."

"Sure, but will I ever be able to use my Mars psynergy again?"

Cain gave a hearty laugh and replied, "Of course, the four elements that you're used to exist in a separate sphere, apart from the powers of light and dark psynergy. Once you get a handle on dark psynergy, you'll be able to switch between the two at will."

Kristi took the opportunity to interject, asking Cain, "What do you mean, separate sphere?"

Cain thought about the question for a second before answering. "Hmmm. How well do you know the story of how Alchemy was given to the world?"

Tyrell gave a blank stare, but Kristi jumped up and exclaimed, "Oh! I know that one!" She looked over at Tyrell and asked, "Hey, don't you know that story? That's pretty common all over Weyard, no matter where you go."

Tyrell shook his head, and Cain piped up, "Well then, I guess this is a good time for a brief history lesson. You see, back when Alchemy was first bestowed on the world, you only received the elements of fire, earth, water, and air. The goddess Iris is the deity that is the source of Alchemy, right?" Kristi nodded, and Cain's expression dropped a bit. "Well this is an interesting thought… Here, try thinking of it like this. The four elements all interact with each other in some way or another right? Water puts out fires, wind erodes boulders, and so on. But light and dark don't follow the same principles. They don't interact with the other elements in such a fashion, and thus can be considered to exist in a separate sphere. The spheres of Alchemy and Luna and Sol do interact though, that much can be seen everywhere around you. Interestingly, there were two other gods, both respectively presiding over light and dark, but they didn't give their power to Weyard, so they fell from worship early on in history."

Kristi tilted her head. "Really? I had heard about some old gods that nobody worshipped anymore, but I never thought it was true."

Cain sighed heavily, and didn't continue the topic. Kristi was slightly confused by Cain's reply, but decided to change the subject.

"So Cain, how good are you with a forge?"

Cain turned and gave a grin even as he walked. "I've made my fair share of weapons over the years. You think I'm not going to be able to make you a decent blade?"

Tyrell let out a hearty laugh. "It's not that exactly, but I don't think you're going to be able to make a sword that's as good as my old one."

Cain was taken aback at this, and replied with a hurt tone. "Oh? Why Tyrell, I'm ashamed you would ever think such a thing. I'll just have to take this as a challenge."

Tyrell grinned from ear to ear. "Now you're talking my language. I'll bet 100 gold coins that you can't make a sword that's better than my old one."

Cain returned Tyrell's grin and shook his hand. "Oh you're on." He turned to Kristi and asked her, "And what about you? You want to get in on this?"

Kristi thought for a second. "Mmmm. Yeah, sure. I want to see what you can really do. But, I'm raising the stakes for my bet."

Cain stopped when he heard this. "You don't say? And how much are we talking?"

Kristi held up two fingers. "I'll double Tyrell's bet. How's that sound?"

Tyrell tripped over his own feet and ever so gracefully face planted into the ground, then immediately leapt back up. "WHOA WHOA WHOA. Since when did you have that much gold?"

Kristi laughed, then replied, "I helped my family save a Madran noble from bandits one time, and he gave us a small fortune as reward. We split it up evenly, and I get to use my cut how I choose."

Tyrell thought back to his travels across Angara, and how Karis had never trusted him with too much of the group's money. Matthew had always slipped him a few of his own coins, and Tyrell still owed him for all of that. Matthew never sought payment though, he always said that he didn't know what to do with his money anyway.

"Well, what do you say to that, Tyrell?" Cain's voice snapped him back to the present. "You planning to match Kristi's bet?"

Tyrell sighed. "I wish I could. I never got much when we divided up the gold. Karis never trusted me with it."

Cain shrugged and continued walking. "Fine by me. I'll be eating well for the next week, regardless."

Tyrell and Kristi followed behind, and though Tyrell didn't notice, Kristi was blushing ever so slightly. "Hey Tyrell, who's Karis?"

Tyrell leaned his head back. "Karis is an old friend of mine. She's my age, and she's really smart, but she's not afraid to get her hands dirty and fight. She's really scary when she gets mad though."

Kristi's expression dropped and she simply muttered an "Oh" in reply. Tyrell glanced over and almost said something, but decided against it. Maybe he had gotten better with women over the course of his adventure?

Eh, probably not.

**~(X)~**

The trio topped a hill and Cain stopped and stretched his arms as Tyrell and Kristi came up behind him. Cain pointed to a town down below and smiled.

"There it is. I hope that old dog of a merchant has managed to stay out of trouble. Otherwise, we might not be able to get some of that special metal. Come on then you two, I've still got a bet to win."

Tyrell and Kristi looked at each other, and Tyrell grinned. "Don't you worry about that bet. There's no way he can make a better sword than the one I had."

Kristi giggled. "Now that's confidence if I've ever heard it. Let's go, I don't want to lose Cain in the town."

Tyrell nodded and the two ran to catch up with their new black haired friend.

As they entered the town, Tyrell noticed that some homes began to close their windows and doors. Kristi seemed to notice it as well, but Cain continued on. He turned left into a small alley, then entered a shack that looked about ready to fall. Kristi gave Tyrell a confused look, to which he shrugged in reply before heading inside. Cain knocked on a desk inside, and a man's head popped out of one of the many piles of junk scattered around the room. The man, seeing he had visitors, pulled himself up and dusted himself off, then greeted the trio.

"Cain! Been too long, mate. I can't even remember the last time we had a drink together!" He threw an arm over Cain's shoulder and grinned.

"Aye, we need to grab some later!" Cain turned them to Tyrell and Kristi, who were waiting patiently by the door. "I'd like to introduce you all. This here is Agil, master merchant and specialist in acquisitions. Agil, this is Tyrell and Kristi, some new friends of mine. I'm here to pick up some of that great metal you've got."

Tyrell looked Agil over. He wore a bandana over shaggy red hair, and had some stubble on his chin. He wore a long brown cloak with a belt. Nothing special to look at, but hey, Tyrell wasn't usually one to judge.

Agil gave a large grin and took his arm off of Cain. "Oh yeah, I still got plenty back here. Just a sec, mate." Agil dove back into one of the piles around his shack, and Kristi whispered to Tyrell. "That's who he's getting the metal for our weapons from? I think we may have this bet in the bag."

Tyrell nodded and decided to ask Cain, "So how do you two characters know each other?"

Cain leaned back and stroked his chin, thinking before he spoke. "It must've been about three years ago. The nobles had raised the taxes in the region of Bilibin territory that Agil had been living in, so he decided to get out before things got worse. Unfortunately, he was attacked by bandits on the road, and nearly lost his life. I found him badly wounded about a half a day later, and used healing psynergy to get him back on his feet. He told me about his bandit trouble, and I went out and got his stuff back for him."

"You mean you took on a bunch of bandits? Alone?" Kristi interjected, surprised.

"Yeah. There weren't a whole lot of them, only about fifty or so back at their hideout. The tricky part was finding the place. They had hidden in an alcove, and they disguised the entrance well. If that one guy hadn't betrayed them and let me in, I may never have found the place."

Kristi's eyes widened. "Fifty?! No way. No one could take out that many people on their own."

Cain raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That now empty alcove begs to differ. Besides, that one guy that helped me was quite the swordsman. He took care of almost half of them by himself."

Tyrell asked, "What ever happened to him?"

Cain shrugged in reply. "I don't know. After the fighting was done, he said something about his debts being absolved, and just walked off."

Tyrell shook his head. "So that was that? Just kill a bunch of guys and walk off? Sounds a bit odd, but that's just me."

Agil popped back out of one of the piles, but from one of the piles on the opposite side of the room he had started out in, much to Kristi and Tyrell's surprise.

"Alright mate, here's the metal you love so much."

Cain took the metal, one of which was mostly black and rather lackluster, then reached into his pouch. "Fantastic, now how much do I owe y-"

"Don't you worry about that," Agil said, waving his hand. "If you really want to pay me, then buy me a few rounds after you're done with whatever you're using that for."

Cain laughed and shook Agil's hand. "Now that's a price we can agree on!"

The trio exited Agil's shop and went back the way they came, but headed further into the town once at the main road. They didn't go much farther before reaching a forge, and they went inside. Cain handed them each a piece of the metal, but Tyrell noticed that his piece was much darker in color than Kristi's. Kristi apparently also picked up on this, and she asked, "Hey Cain, what's up with the weird colors of the metal?"

Cain smiled. "That's no ordinary metal you're holding. That's metal from a meteorite that fell about four years ago up in the Goma mountain range. As it turns out, the metal that was contained inside, the same metal you're holding, is very conductive to psynergy, and thus makes for excellent crafting material for Adepts like ourselves. Try holding it up to the light, and tell me what you see."

Tyrell and Kristi did so, and both were surprised at what they saw. Kristi's was reddish in color, and reflected an orange tint, and Tyrell's was a mix of black and red, and reflected a maroon shade.

"Mine's red, and his is blackish red. So what does that mean?"

Cain started heating up the forge. "The color denotes an element that the metal is best suited for. Your red metal is best for Mars Adepts, while Tyrell's metal has a mix of black and red. This is a cross between Luna and Mars psynergies. Having a sword that can adapt to both types of psynergy will help to not only reclaim his fire talents, but enhance his control of his new dark powers as well."

Tyrell looked back to his metal and breathed heavily. "So you're saying you can make a sword that can do all that?"

Cain grinned as he answered, "And more. You two ready to lose a bet?"

Tyrell chuckled. "You know, I think this is the first bet I'm ok with losing."

Kristi nodded and added, "Me too. If you pull this off, I don't think I'll miss the gold."

"Don't you worry. I know my way around a forge," Cain replied with a smirk. "Now, in order for the metal to reach its full potential upon completion, each one of you has to help in the forging process. Kristi, we'll start with you. What kind of weapon do you want?"

Kristi didn't hesitate with her answer. "I use a special type of weapon from the Naribwe tribe. It's a sword with a three foot long blade, but the hilt is long. Around two feet, to be more exact."

"Hmm, I've never heard of that one. Luckily we've got enough for such a tall order. You sure that's what you want?"

Kristi was unwavering in her decision, and nodded firmly. Cain nodded in reply, and began to heat the furnace, with Kristi adding her psynergy to the mix. Tyrell stood against the opposite wall, and watched as the two of them proceeded to create a powerful blade. Each time Cain removed the metal to hammer it, Kristi would infuse an amount of her psynergy into it, which resulted in a glow that cast a bright red shade over the entire forge.

After several hours, Cain looked the blade over, then nodded at Kristi and smiled. "We've got ourselves a real masterpiece right here. I'll leave it to cool, and we'll call it a night. Tyrell, we'll make yours first thing tomorrow morning."

Tyrell yawned, and said in an exhausted tone, "Ha, yeah that's fine. Let's get to an inn. I'm tired."

**~(X)~**

The trio finished booking their rooms, and headed upstairs. Cain went ahead and entered his room, casting a smile and a wave as he went. Tyrell and Kristi waved back, wishing him a good night's sleep.

Cain closed the door, leaving the two alone again. Tyrell almost wanted to try to make small talk, but noticed how tired Kristi was before starting. She was leaning against the wall, looking ready to fall over. Tyrell offered her a hand and she gladly accepted, allowing him to help her to her room.

"The forging took a lot out of you, huh?" Tyrell smiled as he spoke.

Kristi groaned. "Yeah, I'm not sure if you noticed, but Cain can be a taskmaster when he wants to be. You'd best be ready for tomorrow."

Tyrell turned his head up and mock scoffed. "Oh there's nothing he can dish out that I can't handle."

He turned his head back and was met with the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes he had ever seen. Kristi had her power lip stuck out for added effect. "You think I'm weak and can't take this much work?"

Caught off guard, Tyrell tried to create a coherent answer, but ended up just blurting out an incoherent string of noises.

"Noijusblaughameh."

Kristi laughed wholeheartedly, much to Tyrell's comfort. "I'm just kidding. Besides, I'm stronger than you anyway."

Tyrell was very surprised at that last statement, and stopped walking, pinching Kristi's bicep as he did. "OW OW OW, Tyrell, I didn't mean physically!"

"Oh."

Kristi began to rub her arm where Tyrell had pinched her. "You pinch hard." There were the eyes again, genuine this time.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Kristi continued to massage her arm, and luckily for Tyrell, the puppy dog eyes faded as she turned her gaze up to him.

"It's okay. I know a way you can make it up to me." There was a playful tone at the end of that sentence that felt oddly familiar.

"Eh? And what do you have in mind?"

"You can buy me breakfast tomorrow."

"Okay. Sure, I guess."

Kristi beamed. "Great! I'll see you in the morning!" And with that, she turned into her room and closed the door.

Tyrell stopped, realizing that he had just agreed to have breakfast with Kristi. He really was tired. He shrugged, thinking that this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and headed off to his room. Not a bad thing at all.

**A/N**

So, sorry about the really long wait. I've been busy, to say the least.

I can't think of much to say about this chapter, besides the fact that I felt this one was almost rushed, despite how long it took to write. (weird)

But anyway, moving right along…

Review Responses!

**Sentinel07**: I certainly plan to include some romance. Hopefully I added a little hinting of it at the end there. I still don't know how to write romance that well, though I'm actually reading a little VN stuff to get a better feel for it.

**JamesK716**: Addressing Crest, yes he is mostly inspired by Gaara, though there are some major differences. Crest is much friendlier and talkative, whereas Gaara obviously isn't. Also, Crest uses his sand differently in combat. Crest prefers to have his sand take form, usually in dual wielding weapons, though he does switch to free form sand at will.

I'm glad that you like Karst as the mother, I wasn't sure what the reactions might be, so hearing positive thoughts is always good.

**FlameUser64**: Ah, I didn't think about that. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll have to see if I can't edit that into something better.

Again, thanks to everyone who reviews. All feedback is appreciated, and can only help me get better. I'll be busy for a while, so don't be surprised if the next chapter takes some time before getting put up. Later y'all.


	8. Karis Chapter 3: Getting Acquainted

**Karis Chapter 3: Getting Acquainted **

Karis stirred as a hand gently rocked her shoulder back and forth. A voice sounded just outside her waking consciousness. "Hey, time to wake up. General Dieter is ready to see you." Karis' eyes flicked open, and she felt something on top of her chest. She looked down to find Ivy had come over to her couch and curled up with her head resting on Karis' chest.

Karis nodded to the soldier, who stepped back. With a small smile, Karis put a hand on top of Ivy's head and then slowly tried to remove Ivy's arms, which she had wrapped around Karis' midsection. Ivy stirred and hugged Karis surprisingly tightly, which made Karis grunt. Ivy buried her head further into Karis' chest and started to tremble slightly, murmuring something at the same time. Karis could barely make it out, but it sounded like Ivy was saying "mommy, no don't go, please, mommy…"

Karis was confused, but thought that Ivy must be having a nightmare. She took Ivy by the shoulders and gently rocked her and said her name, which caused her to awaken. Ivy rolled her head back and looked up at Karis, revealing red all around Ivy's eyes.

_Did Ivy cry herself to sleep?_

"Hey there sleepy head, are you alright?" Ivy rubbed her eyes and nodded. Karis slid off the couch and stood up. "I have to go see the general now, so it's time to get up." Ivy clearly wasn't fully awake yet, and instead of standing, threw her arms up towards Karis and waited. Karis got the hint and lifted Ivy up, carrying her out into the hallway.

"Alright, which way?"

One of the soldiers motioned to the right. "Please follow us. We'll take you to the general." Karis nodded and the soldiers formed up around her, with one directly ahead and two on each side.

As they were walking, one of the soldiers remarked, "Well, looks like Ivy's already asleep again." Another replied, "Really now… looks like our guest has earned Ivy's trust. In record time, I believe." The other soldiers chuckled.

Karis was slightly confused. "What are you guys talking about?"

Her escorts turned somber as the soldier to her left began to explain. "Anemos has had some rough times as of late. Just a few years ago, the last king and queen, Ivy's parents, were killed in an attack. It all happened right in front of her and Aero."

Another soldier continued, "The two of them were on an escort airship that was taking them to safety. Their parents were on the ship right after them, but as they were taking off, a rocket hit their ship and destroyed it. There weren't even bodies. The loss sparked a lot of mixed emotions all over Anemos. The queen's death was mourned all over the city. She was beautiful, kind, and a powerful Jupiter adept." The soldier hesitated before continuing. "The king however, was a tyrant. He ruled with terror, and, ah, we're here. If you'd like, I'm sure the general can continue to answer your questions. Well, provided you answer his in return."

Karis nodded and thanked the soldiers, then headed into the general's office.

There was a distinct lack of décor in the general's office. It was a small room, with no paintings or even a window, occupied only by a desk and a few chairs. Very utilitarian, to be sure.

Dieter's old eyes looked up from a stack of papers to find Karis standing at the door, holding the still slumbering Ivy. Dieter smirked and motioned for Karis to take a seat in the chair across from him.

"First off, let me catch you up to speed. The assassination attempt you stopped is the work of one of our enemies, the Tuaparang Empire. They indoctrinated Lady Noelle and used her to try and kill Prince Aero. Anemos is in your debt for preventing such a plan from succeeding. "

Karis' face took on one of confusion. "Wait, you mean the Tuaparang are your enemies too?"

Dieter nodded. "They were once part of our empire, but they broke off a number of years ago. We've been in a state of war with them for a while now." Dieter sighed and rubbed hi eyes. "Our last king was such a tyrant that the Tuaparang stole a large military vessel and splintered, and since has become very powerful. We're still not entirely sure where their technological prowess came from. But anyway, you said you were an enemy of Tuaparang as well?"

Karis looked down. "Yeah, my friends and I had more than a few run-ins with them, most of them resulting in fighting. Looks like we've got a common foe then."

Dieter gave a grin. "Ha, indeed. Glad to have you on our side. Like I said, Anemos is in your debt. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Karis started to think, and decided to try to get more questions answered. "Well, I like to learn all I can. Can you tell me more about the Tuaparang?"

Dieter nodded. "After the Tuaparang split, we lost track of them for several years. We believe that they began to meddle below in Weyard, because when they resurfaced several years later, they launched a surprise attack with powerful weapons fueled by dark psynergy. It was during that attack that the last king and queen were killed. After that, we declared full scale war. There's not much else I can tell you. We're not even sure who tier leader is, much less where they are or the true extent of their reach."

Dieter sat back and sighed. "One thing I can tell you is this; there's still a lot of resentment in the people of Anemos towards the monarchy, in all parts of society. I wouldn't be surprised if there were Tuaparang spies in every shadow."

Karis tried to take this all in, but the answer to one question still eluded her. "You mentioned something called indoctrination earlier, and that Lady Noelle was subjected to it. What exactly is that?"

Dieter thought about this, then stood up. "Perhaps I can explain it best if I show you first hand. Come with me."

As Karis stood up, Ivy stirred and lifted her head. Dieter came around the desk and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Good morning Miss Ivy. Looks like someone had a nice long nap."

Ivy rubbed her eyes and turned to face the general. "Good morning mister general sir. Is big brother and Noelle all right?"

Dieter nodded gently. "Yes, thanks to our guest. Both the Prince and Lady Noelle should be fine."

Ivy turned back to Karis and hugged her tightly around the neck. "Thanks Karis."

Karis smiled, and Dieter spoke up. "Miss Ivy, I'm sure your brother would like to see you. If you don't mind, could you go with the guards outside to see him? Karis and I are going to check on Lady Noelle, and then we'll join you."

Ivy nodded enthusiastically and climbed down from Karis' arms. "That's right! You still have to meet big brother!" She ran to the doors and yelled back as she went out into the hallway. "I'll see you later guys!"

Karis waved, and then just like that, Ivy was gone, headed down the hallway to meet her brother.

Dieter started to head out the door, a slight chuckle escaping from him. "Sometimes I forget that she's just a kid."

"How do you mean?" Karis asked as they left the room.

Dieter thought about his answer for a few seconds as they began walking. "Well, she's young in body, but not necessarily in spirit. She's been through a lot, so she's become mature far beyond her years. Well, most of the time. She hasn't completely lost her youthful spirit." Dieter paused and scratched the back of his head. "It's still impressive though; after the attack that killed her parents, she insisted that we open up the palace to house people whose homes had been destroyed in the fighting. On top of that, she makes a point to get to know everyone she meets, even the lowliest of refugees."

"Wow. That's incredible… I couldn't do something like that even if I wanted to. I don't think I'm… compassionate enough."

They rounded a corner and Dieter tried to quickly fumble out a reply. "I don't believe that. You seem like a nice girl. Maybe not as nice as Ivy, but, er, what I mean is…"

Karis gave him a neutral glare. "You don't do a lot of consoling, do you?"

Dieter looked slightly surprised. "Geez, that bad, huh?"

"Pfft, yeah haha, you could use some work."

"Heh, alright. I guess I can try to get bett-"

Dieter was cut off as a pair of doors down the hallway suddenly exploded outward.

"Damn, that's one of the research labs…" Dieter pulled out a box and spoke into it. "I need a cleanup team down at research lab 17. Again."

Dieter rushed forward to check on the room, with Karis not far behind. "Hey, is everyone al right in there?"

A man with frizzled white hair and a white lab coat emerged from the smoke, and waved his arms when he saw Dieter. "General! Good to see you! You're just in time to view the results of our new experiments! These new rounds are a blast!" The man spoke in a hurried, high pitched tone, and was quite short. Shorter than even Rief.

Dieter looked the charred and smoking doorway over. "Yeah, I can see that. Is everyone all right in there?"

The scientist turned back and called out, "Hey, you slackers better be all right, we've still got work to do!" A small chorus of groans emerged from the room, and the old man turned back and grinned. "Yep, we're all still alive."

Dieter placed his head in his hand and sighed. "Just get me a report after you're done cleaning up, all right?"

The old man gave a salute. "Sure thing! Now then, I better get back in there and analyze those results! I'll get that report to you later!" Before Dieter could say anything, the old scientist had dashed back into the smoke.

Dieter sighed heavily. "I'm probably not getting that report. Anyway, come on Karis, let's let the cleanup crew do their job."

Karis looked around confused, but followed as Dieter started walking again. "Uh, sure. Okay."

"That was Dr. Ohm, by the way. He's one of the head scientists around here. And he's a little crazy."

"A little?"

Dieter chuckled. "Okay, but he's a smart guy all the same. A lot of our recent breakthroughs are from him. He's a handful, but he makes it worth our while, no matter how many labs he blows through."

"He seems rather quirky."

"Yeah, that's why I'm not expecting that report. I don't think he's actually ever made one. He just runs in and starts shouting about the latest discovery he made. It gets the idea across… effectively."

"Haha, sounds like it."

They rounded one last corner and Dieter stopped in front of a door that read "Detention Block 4. Security level 3 required."

"We're here. Time to check in on Noelle." He pulled out a card and swiped it in a slot, then the door slid open and they stepped inside. They entered into another hallway, albeit a much smaller one. This hallway had many doors lining its walls, each one identical to the last, save for a number just under an iron barred window. Dieter stopped and opened a door numbered 415. They walked in and Karis looked around.

There were two other people already in the room, a man and a woman, and then there was a door to another room. The two rooms had a window between them, and the other room held Noelle, who sat handcuffed to a metal table. She seemed distant, as if her mind had abandoned her body.

The woman caught Karis' attention as she stood up and handed Dieter a few papers, her twin ponytails swishing as she did so. "Lady Noelle's doing well so far; she's responding to all our tests. I think she was only meant to be indoctrinated for a short time."

Dieter breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I couldn't hope for better news." He looked over the pages, which were covered with various graphs and text. "According to these results, we should be able to have her fully recovered in a week or two."

Karis looked the woman over, who actually looked rather young, maybe a year or two older than herself, if that. She had her light brown hair in twin ponytails and she had a bright shine in her eyes. She spoke with a bouncy tone, and started to rock back and forth on her feet when she noticed Karis looking her over.

"Ah, sorry."

The girl smiled. "It's fine. I'm Ali, and the stickler over there is Inten. We've been watching over Lady Noelle and helping with her recovery. But I'm more interested in you." She leaned forward and gave Karis a playfully devious look.

"Huh, who, me?"

Ali smiled and leaned back. "Yes you. You're the girl who fell out of that huge black hole in the middle of the city, and then you save the prince from an indoctrinated assassin? Talk about making an entrance."

Karis blushed a little as Inten also stood. "I concur. From what I've heard, you single handedly prevented the death of our prince. You have our gratitude." At that, both Inten and Ali straightened up and placed their right fist over their heart.

Karis fumbled to return the gesture, which Ali had to stifle her laughter at. "No silly, it's a salute. You don't have to do it back for stuff like this."

Karis smiled sheepishly as Inten readjusted his glasses. "It is rather apparent from your actions and appearance that you are not from Anemos. Logic dictates that you are then from another place… the surface of Weyard, perhaps?

Karis nodded. Inten didn't smile, but his stoic tone altered just enough to hint at him being pleased at his correct guess. "I see. Anyway, General Dieter, is there anything else we can be of assistance with?"

Dieter shook his head. "No, you've done quite enough. I'll have your shift replacements down momentarily."

Ali stretched and yawned. "Thanks General. Oh and I hate to pester, but have you found a final member for us yet?"

"I'm still working on that, but don't worry, I'll work something out. I'll see you two later."

Ali smiled and thanked the General, and Karis and Dieter left them to their work and proceed back down the hallway.

"Hey Dieter, you never answered my question. What exactly is indoctrination?"

Dieter paused and crossed his arms. "I did, didn't I? Well you've fought the Tuaparang, so you should be somewhat familiar with dark psynergy. You see, dark psynergy can affect the mind, and if used by an extremely skilled dark adept, then it can eventually lead to temporary mind control. From what we've observed in victims, it's a gradual process that can take anywhere between months to weeks. The after effects of indoctrination are usually memory loss and confusion."

Dieter held up the papers Ali had given him, "In Lady Noelle's case, it would appear that the manipulator only intended to take control for a very short amount of time." He sighed and scratched his head. "We don't know everything about indoctrination yet, but I hope we never have to."

Karis processed this new information as Dieter continued. "The thing that concerns me most is that unless the caster is exceedingly powerful, then they couldn't have indoctrinated Noelle from a large distance."

"Then there's someone in Anemos that serves the Tuaparang."

"Indeed. Don't be too trusting of people here, Karis. Stay wary, and you'll stay alive."

Karis nodded grimly as they made their way onward.

**~(X)~**

A.N.

I admit, this chapter took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I hope it still turned out well though.

I do feel that parts of the beginning felt rushed or forced, but that it got better as we went along. That might just be me, but still, I always appreciate another opinion.

Well it's time for Review Responses!

Sentinel07: Thanks, I'm glad you like that interaction. I hope I'm starting to get interactions like that more fluid and believable, so you can expect a little more of that in the future.

Clank2662: Oh Tyrell gets a sword later. Don't you worry about that.

Fictioncreator7898: Well thanks, I'm glad you like it. And yeah, Tyrell always struck me as a comical character, so I've tried to continue that idea in this story.

Just so you all know, GSAR is having some big things go down in the foreseeable future, so I may be slightly preoccupied with that, school and a job. I will however continue to work on this, so don't worry.

And as always, thank you to all those who leave a review! Getting feedback is probably the most driving thing for me to keep writing.

Auf Wiedersehen!


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